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Monday, September 20, 2010

The Special Relationship (2010)

On a trilogy of Tony Blair films starring Michael Sheen, Peter Morgan has once again written a masterpiece in "The Special Relationship." It's a film based around the relationship the British Prime Minister traditionally has with his/her US counterpart (The President). In this case, the story focuses around Blair and Bill Clinton.

However, I think I must be getting old, and a lot quicker than I am expecting. Some time ago, I decided to drag out a dusted DVD of "Thirteen Days," a docudrama about the events leading up to and including the Cuban Missile Crisis during the 60s when J.F.K. was in charge. If I remember correctly, and I may not be since I think I am getting old, I watched this movie in a History class back in the early 2000s - and I didn't really think much of it.

Watching it again now made so much more sense. I have had to deal with a crisis situation in my own profession earlier this year. It was suddenly easy to draw similarities and feel part of the story. A second watching turned out to be a fantastic blueprint of how to write a manual on "crisis management" and what a crisis this was - nuclear!

I've been a massive fan of the mainstream second installment of Peter Morgan's trilogy, "The Queen." The movie was gritty, it had emotion, as it simply portrayed a frail family on the verge of destruction battling the onset of new media. Along comes a "knight in shining armor" to bring a traditional and very old fashioned family into this brave new world with the help of not just Blair, but also Alastair Campbell who has shaped much of what PR is in politics in the UK for a good while now.

In any case, I've never seen the first film of the trilogy, "The Deal," which apparently involved a deal struck between Blair and Gordon Brown on who is to become Prime Minister. This is definitely something I will try to do now: find it and watch it. It was a great, joyful occasion when I discovered there was a new movie coming out this year with much of the same casts for characters appearing in "The Queen."

Having just watched the final of the trilogy I must say I am really getting ancient. I sat through one hour and thirty minutes of political grappling and public relations spin and do you know what my reaction was? I honestly think this is the single best film I have seen all year. The worst part of all this though, is that I stick "Invictus," which is also somewhat of a political drama, together on top of my 2010 rankings.

I was captivated throughout the film and kept hoping that it would not end. It was truly a joy to watch and it was a truly wonderful experience to have learnt something while watching an enjoyable movie. Fantastic!

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About Me

I live in what some call the "Capital of Europe," work in the Automotive industry, and it just so happens, I really have a passion for cars. I also love Formula 1 and try to attend at least one race per year. Oh... and I can't stay away from the latest gizmos and gadgets.

Mark Webber shows his anger (finger gesture) So, another Malaysian Grand Prix and some more rain again. Vettel is back on the top step...

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